The Fall of the Gods
by Billiam2920
Summary: Several years after the departure of Bhelliom, Princess Danae Aphrael is turning 18. She and her protecter and champion, Talen, will soon find themselves wrapped up in a fight for destiny, and the return of Bhelliom.... And the rising of a new Anakha.
1. Chapter 1: Realizations

Chapter One:

Realizations

Talen woke with a start, "OH SHIT, Sparhawk is gonna kiiiiiillllll me!!!!!"

Getting out of bed and running around the room getting ready that was Talen's only thought. Today was Princess Danae's birthday. She was turning 18. As Champion and Protector it was his job to escort her around all day and make sure it was perfect. And he had slept in.

"Shit" _Damn Sparhawk is gonna be mad._ As the queens consort, her Champion and Protector, also the Preceptor of the Pandion order he was the most powerful man this side of the empire. And he was Danae's father. And really not someone who you wanted to be on the bad side of.

Talen started laughing, _I'm insane, _he had just remembered when he had broke somebody's nose for insulting the princess. Sparhawk had made him do triple practices for a week, then told him to go and break as many bones in the guys body as he could in under 15 minutes. Sparhawk had timed him, at the age of 15 he broke both his arms one leg and all his ribs. Talen was very proud of that achievement. Now he wondered who it was that was going to have 15 minutes to break all the bones in his body.

_I'm going to be late, crap!!!!!!!! __He was going to be late for the princess, oh no._ Talen could deal with a couple broken bones, but having the princess mad at him was worse, she would ignore him or suggest replacing him. It drove Talen through the roof. How could he be replaced, he would kill anyone who tried. He couldn't bare to have her mad at him. This thought drove Talen through his room, getting all his equipment together for later, he grabbed his sword belt and buckled it on. He hated running with his sword, it was really awkward, but he had no choice. He ran as fast as he could towards her apartments, which were on the other side of the castle, only stopping to pick up her present. He arrived at her door and stopped, straightened his clothes and attempted to do something with his hair, but failed miserably. He shrugged and knocked on the door.

When it opened he almost died. She was standing there in and Extremely revealing nightgown.

"Hey Talen!!!!" she said excitedly as she hugged him.

_AAAAAAAHHHHHH, _Talen was blushing deeply "Princess, do you think you can put some clothes on.... please."

"What?... you think I'm ugly." She asks, pouting with tears welling in her eyes

"No. your extremely beautiful, and that's sorta the problem"

"Well thank you." She leant forward, giving Talen an all to inappropriate view, and whispered _"Glad you liked it." _He swallowed, "mhm" she laughed and spun away.

He smiled, he loved her laugh, it always made him smile.

There was a rough cough behind him. His smile faded, he knew that cough.

He turned slowly to find himself facing Sparhawk. _Damn_.

"Hey Sparhawk" Talen said nervously

"What were you just doing with my daughter?" _OH SHIT_

Talen was way to nervous to notice the grin on Sparhawk's face

"Uh, n…n...nothing Sparhawk, I guess s...s…she was just happy to see me"

"Mhmm, I'll talk with you later" Sparhawk said, still grinning.

Talen gulped, still to nervous to notice the grin "Yes sir." _I'm a dead man walking_

Sparhawk turned and walked away, laughing when he got halfway down the hall.

His daughter had some big plans for Talen, that boy wouldn't know what hit him.

Sparhawk laughed again.

Sparhawk's laughed boomed out again and made Talen jump.

_What am I in for now, oh god that can not be good_.

Talen tried to calm down._ Ok, ill deal with that later, princess now._

He settled down and knocked on the door before he entered her room. She was dazzling.

Her dress was cut low and tight, a beautiful piece of art. He reminded himself to give the man who made it a raise. As he looked at her and she smiled he felt a sharp pain in his chest. This was one of the last times she would need him. Today she would choose a husband. And Talen had to give them his blessings and pass on the title as champion to whomever he may be. At least Talen got to stay Protector, he may get to see her once and awhile, he wouldn't be totally replaced by her husband. This brought back memories from the past few months. The young noblemen who were all looking for a wife would come and gather to spend time with the princess. She spent time getting to know all of them so that she could make her choice when the time came. After the first week of this she had come back for her studies and had told him that it was ridiculous to go through all this and that she already knew who she was choosing. This cut Talen deep, as all the noblemen so far had showed nothing but distaste to him, he was just a peasant who happened to make a good knight, nothing more. With all of them he would soon be removed, and it seemed that was to happen if the princess had already chosen. After this Talen had savored every moment he could have with her knowing that soon there would be none. The months seemed to go by so fast an now was the day that he would lose her. It had finally come, what a day, all full of cheers and parades he had to smile through, but inside he just wished to sit in the practice yard and train. Long grueling hours of swordfight to take his mind off it all, not a smile. This was turning into the worst day of Talen's life. He didn't have days or weeks anymore, only mere hours.

"So how do you like it?" the princess said interrupting his thoughts

"Its beautiful…your beautiful" _Oh god why did I just say that._ "I….I…I mean its very pretty princess" Talen stuttered quickly.

The princess frowned. "Talen?"

"Yes"

"I think I like beautiful better, and what have I told you about calling me princess when we are alone, I do have a name you know, can you say it, D-A-N-A-E?" she says slowly

Talen smiled, "Yes Danae, the dress is beautiful."

She raised an eyebrow "Is that all?"

Talen smiled wider, "Well I don't know, there are no words to describe how beautiful you are." Talen started to grin

Danae blushed, "Why thank you Talen." She leant forward and kissed him on the lips.

_Wow, she had just kissed him, he was dreaming, she kissed him._

"Hm, but I wasn't planning on putting it on for awhile yet."

"But aren't you wearing it to the parade and for the ceremony?'

"Yes, I am"

"Then why wouldn't you put it on now?"

"Because Talen, they parade isn't starting yet." She said in a matter of fact voice

"Well not yet, but you don't want to cut it too close do you?"

Wow that kiss must have been a little much if he hasn't gotten it yet.

"Talen, why don't you sit down"

"Why." Talen said, becoming suddenly very weary.

"Because Talen, the parade isn't starting for almost another 6 hours."

Talen felt ready to puke, _Oh god_ "I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to wake you up, I'm so sorry, did I interrupt anything, so sorry" Talen jabbered on apologies for another minute before Danae could step in. "No Talen, its fine, I was already up and I was just about to have a bathe."

"Oh, then I'll get out of your way." Talen said, blushing deeply as the picture thrust themselves to the front of his mind.

"No, its fine, and you should take a nap. You seem to be a little mixed up right now so just go rest on the couch, I'll get you when I'm done."

"S…sure" Talen stuttered , fighting back the increasing amount of visions that were coming to him. Talen flopped down on the couch, forgetting all formality or dignity, burying his head in the pillows in the effort to control the visions.

"Ummmm, Talen?....fine I'll do it myself!" Danae smiled, this should be fun. She leant forward and started to undo his swordbelt. Almost immediately he jumped, falling backwards over the couch with a dull thud, sword clattering away. 'Hm, he must not have had it buckled on to tight then, I barely touched it.' thought Danae. Talen finally got up, staggering a bit.

"W…w…what were you doing?"

"Well your sword was digging a hole in my couch, so I thought since you weren't answering or making any move to fix that I would." She said in a justified voice

Talen blushed even deeper than before. Danae wondered how red he could get, it was starting to get entertaining. "T…t…that's fine, I can do it myself."

"Then hurry up, I need some help undoing the dress." Talen went deeper, Danae smiled, this was very entertaining. "Sure." Talen managed to get out.

"What are you thinking???" Danae asked a smile playing at her lips.

Talen went deep cherry red, "N…n…n…nothing." His blush spreading down his neck.

"Hurry up Talen, I need my bath."Danae wondered how far it went smiled and laughed, then started to blush as her thoughts went a little farfetched. She turned quickly, hiding it from Talen.

"Y…y…y…yes, I'll be r…right there."

Ugh what a terrible stutter, she would really have to do something about that. Talen dropped his sword off in the corner and hurried back, tripping over the table. He reached up and started to undo the lace at the top, slowly and carefully making his way down. Her skin pale white, it looked so smooth he ached just to brush it. Then he found he did, his hand slipped off the lace and brushed across her shoulder. It felt smoother then he ever would have thought, and so soft. Then he realized what he was doing, the apologies running from his mouth.

"Sorry I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, so sorry."

"It's fine Talen." Something in her voice made him stop, he wasn't quite sure what it was. He continued to undo the lace, now distracted by the strange tone. He didn't realize he was at the end of the lace and his hand fumbled, slipping slightly underneath her dress. She gasped and he jumped back quickly. The apologies now tumbling from his mouth.

"I'm sorry, so sorry, sorrysorrysorry ismsormrsy." _Oh god, now he couldn't even talk straight, this was it._

"That's alright Talen, there's nothing to be sorry for." He stopped, there it was again, something in her voice that he just couldn't place. And…was that a blush? A deep blush…like…no that cant happen.

"I'll just go to the couch." He mumbled.

"Ok." She couldn't believe she was blushing. He didn't even touch anything, just her back. She blushed again. HOW. How did he make her blush. This shouldn't happen, HER!!! She was a GODESS. HOW DID HE MAKE HER BLUSH. She was almost screaming in hysterics. She started to break down, He couldn't make her blush, she couldn't really fall in love with him. He was a mortal. He would die. He was mortal. She hurried the rest of the way to the bathroom, he couldn't see her like this. She got in and broke down.

She was in love with him, and he would die. He was a mortal and she immortal. He would die, and she would be cursed to live on forever without him. She cried harder, how could this happen? Of course she was choosing him, but she truly loved him, a mortal. He would die. She couldn't bare the thought. She stopped crying, she would cherish every moment with him…and she would find a way, one or another…..

* * *

**Please review, this is my first story so any opinions are welcome.**

**If you guys think its any good then review, ill start the second chapter after i get the first few reviews.**

**Thanks everyone, enjoy the story. :P**


	2. Chapter 2: Seduction

"Ugggghhhhh" Talen groaned as he rolled over. Almost immediately noticing 2 things; the splashing of water was done meaning Danae's bath was over, and the most beautiful singing he had ever heard coming from her room.

"She sounds so amazing" he breathed.

In a daze he got up and crept closer to here better so close to the door now and then she stopped singing, the finish almost breaking his heart. He paused for a moment and looked around, stopping dead, the was a very large spot of drool on the pillow he had been sleeping on. 'Shit Shit Shit' he raced back over and flipped the pillow. 'I just hope she doesn't see it' Talen thought.

" I think I'll just wait here for her" he says to himself. He hears footsteps and turns on the couch, absently noting that it was in such a place that from where he was sitting he could see almost her whole room, but foremost was 'Holy Shit'. Danae's door was practically wide open from where he sat, also giving him a extremely nice view of her naked. His gaze raked over her arms and back up and down her legs, and stopping on her perfectly shaped ass.

'Mmmmmmmm that would feel soo nice. . . . . . Fuck! Stop thinking that Talen' he thought, as he buried his head into the pillows, trying to calm himself. 'Sparhawk would kill me. . . Sparhawk, Sparhawk, Sparhawk. . .' Usually Talen's restraint was amazing but this was something altogether different. 'I can't believe I'm doing this' thought Talen as he moved over to the door. He looked in again and almost lost it completely. His mouth dropped as he watched a strain growing in his pants. Danae was on her bed, legs spread and a hand between them, glistening wet and rubbing furiously. Her back arched and her other hand, so small

'feel so nice. . .', squeezing her breast, which was far to big for her hand but would fill his perfectly.

"YES, God yes TALEN!" erupted from her lips as he watched her cum all over her hand.

'Talen. . . Me. . . .' Talen couldn't comprehend what had happened at first. Realization, then shock and panic, coursed through Talen. He bolted to the couch, lying down and trying to hide the bulge. Then the pain hit him and he barely kept it together. 'Me. . . but we can't. . . never. . . this cant happen!' the pain of these thoughts washed over him as he waited for her to come out, attempting to somewhat compose himself.

Danae moved back to the washroom to clean herself. 'Damn it' she almost screamed. 'I pushed him to far' she wined to herself 'uuuuuuuugh' she wanted to have him so badly, to be with him.

'Damn it' she thought again. 'Tonight...ugh, but I want him now...ugh' She had to wait. She would have him by this afternoon... and even more of him tonight. That thought made her wet again. 'Dammit' She heard Talen yawn from in the other room. She slipped into her dress.

"Talen!!"She smiles as he appears in the doorway then turns around. "I need you to do this up for me again." "Sure." Talen mumble, moving in quickly. Brushing his hands and trailing his fingers along her back as he does it up, his soft breathing just gliding over her neck, send shivers through her body.

'UGH, why wont he just give in, I've been waiting so long' she turns just as soon as he is finished and stops. He is staring straight at her chest, with a small wolfish grin, 'Oh my god' her leg quivered and she almost collapsed, getting so wet just from his gaze. He wanted her and she knew it. 'Uuugggh...I...Have...To...Wait'

"Ok, Lets get going!" she said, attempting to take control of the situation again.

"Yes princess." Talen's voice so smooth, taunting... today was going to be very interesting indeed.

* * *

**Hey guys,**

**Ok so if you dont like this kind of stuff sorry, there is going to be a bit of it in here ****and sorry for the delay, lost my writing computer problems, one long streak of bad luck, will be writing more soon and hopefully the bad luck is over and we can see how Danae finally gets Talen all for herself. And maybe even a small spar between Talen and Danae, who's been having a couple secret lessons with Mirtai :P should be very interesting, small twist in the end.**

**Thanks for the reviews, Really encouraging**

**Keep Reading!**

**Billiam2920**


	3. Chapter 3: Secret Match

What the hell am i doing' thought Talen. He had just walked out of Danae's bedroom, after looking at her in a very inapropriate way. 'What was going through your head that made you do that' Talen thought. 'Shit...Oh well, why not have some fun today, wont have a chance after that'. Talen started to run through the plans for the day: public apearance for danae in a couple hours, tour through the city, then back to the castle grounds for the big choice of the day. It's quite a unique day, no princess has ever chosen her husband like this, and of course the size of the ceremony was practically unheard of. The entire city was invited to be present, as well as the various monarchs of the kindoms of Eosia, The rulers of Atan, and the Emporer of Tamul. this gathering was huge yet Danae didnt seem to break a sweat. It was incredble. Talen looked up to see Mirtai walk into the room.

"Talen? What are you doing here?" She looked at him questioningly, with a small smirk on her lips. "Ooh, Mirtai, thank goodness your here, Talen doesnt know much at all about how to help me get ready!" Talen whirled around a bit startled to see Danae in the doorway with her dress back undone a bit, he frowned.

"I alrea-" he started as Danae cut him off "I know you did, but you tied it wrong, so now Mirtai is going to do it. You can go off down to the kitchens and get me something to eat though, I'm starving."

He looked at her helplessly and then turned away muttering, why in the world was he running these kinds of errands for her. He looked over at Mirtai as he left and she only shrugged and turned to go to the princess, he sighed and kept walking down the hall. Talen wandered through the halls and made his way to the kitchen and picked up some bread, cheese and soup for Danae, placing it all on a tray and starting back towards her room. He noticed that there were alot more servants out and about now, the day was now underway. He sighed yet again, feeling the pang of pain in his chest, he would be replaced soon and that was hurting him more then he would have ever thought it could. He continued towards Danaes room, brooding over what was to come. Not noticing the big shining piece of armour that was infront of him he walked straight into it, crashing backwards onto the floor.

"Oooowww" was the only word spoken by the two fallees for the first few seconds. Talen rubbing his head, looked up to see Kalten trying quite unsuccessfully to get off the ground. Kalten looked behind himself at Talen and smiled.

"Hey, since you were the one to knock me over, i think you get to be the one to help me up, and besides, as your teacher you can count it towards ummm...physical conditioning." Kalten rolled himself over to a somewhat sitting position and stated laughing at Talen.

Talen groaned. "Alright alright, but i better get a break during the next lance lesson." Kalten laughed. Talen walked over and grabbed ahold of Kaltens arm and heaved him up, "Your getting quite strong there Talen, or maybe I'm just getting a bit to old...hm" he laughed again and Talen shook his head, he couldnt believe he took becoming a knight over being a thief, he was going to end up an old guy in armour who can't get off the floor, just like Kalten.

Talen smiled as a devious plan came to mind. He patted Kalten on the back a bit harder then needed, bruising his own hand, but sending Kalten forward at a precarious angle. He reached out to grab ahold of him again, and pulled Kalten back into a standing position. "I'm pretty sure your just getting old there Kalten... and a bit pudgy I might add." Talen smiled as Kalten frowned at him.

"Well its a big day and I have to go talk to Sparhawk before he gets wrapped up again." Kalten said and he turned mumbling about "rude youngsters". Talen smiled and looked around, looking for the tray of food that he dropped becoming slightly confused when it was nowhere to be seen.

He paused as a familiar sound floated through the air, it had been quite a few years since he had heard the pipes that sounded the aproach of Aphrael. He felt a light touch on his shoulder and turned to see Flute sitting in mid-air chuckling and holding the tray that he had dropped. "That was quite funny there and you know you should watch yourself around here, never know whose watching." Flute chuckled and held out the tray for Talen.

"I'll see you at the ceremony later". Before Talen could say anything Flute disapeared and the tray fell neatly into his hands. Talen stood there stunned for a couple seconds and then shook his head. "Wow, that was sudden."

He walked the rest of the way to Danae's room and pushed open the door to be struck dumb again. In the middle of the room stood Danae in a skin tight leather suit. She was stretching and running through combat poses with Mirtai watching intently and nodding as she flowed to each pose perfectly.

Talen recovered and placed the tray on the side table and walked up to Mirtai, "How long have you been teaching her this?" Mirtai smiled and looked over. "I've been teaching her for the last few months on her mothers orders."

Talen turned towards the mat. "Was there some reason I wasn't told about this?" Talen was starting to heat up a bit, he was supposed to be in charge of Danaes security and everything related to it.

"Because it wasn't necessary for you to know." Mirtai was calm and collected but knew this was upsetting Talen quite a bit and it would be good to tread lightly in the next few minutes.

Talens voice lowered "I am her Champion and Protector, knowing everything that concerns her and her safety is necessary for me to know." Mirtai turned to Talen and looked him in the eye.

"It wasn't my idea to not tell you about this, I was going to tell you on several occasions but Danae refused to let me tell you, and I am compelled to follow her orders over yours when they clash. So I am sorry that you did not know but there is no harm in it, if anything it would provide her with extra protection as none of the other gaurds know of this and therefore nobody outside of your gaurds know either."

Talen took a deep breath and nodded, admitting that this would play as an advantage now and he decided that it would remain unknown for everybody else for now. "Alright then, I suppose you are right and I overreacted, please accept my apology and please continue with her training until you think she is completely trained."

Mirtai signalled to Danae to finish up and come over and turned to Talen. "I accept your apology and accept your offer to train her further." She chuckled as Danae walked up.

Danae stopped infront of them and turned to Talen. "So what do you think?"

Talen smirked a bit "I think you are getting quite skilled at hand to hand combat and with a bit more work you could almost give me a run for my money."

Danae scowled, "I meant what do you think about the look and what do you mean a bit more work and almost give you a run for your money, I could take you on right now, no sweat."

Talen laughed and turned towards Mirtai, "May I have permission to test your student in combat?"

Mirtai grinned back "Of course you may, but dont get mad when she does beat you." Mirtai chuckled and walked over to the couch to sit as Talen turned back to Danae. "I guess we have a match, but once its over you have to go out for your appearance and get ready for the rest of the day."

Danae smiled and jumped, "Of course, but what do I get when I win?"

Talen smirked, "**IF** you win, then you can have whatever you want, but **If** **I win **then I get **whatever I want.**" He looked her up and down suggestively, he smirked as she blushed and quivered.

Danae straightened and tried to ignore the moist feeling between her legs and looked at Talen, "F-fine, but you arent going to win anyways so...hmph" Danae turned and crossed the room thinking all the way 'what the hell did I just agree to, why would I do that, but oh god he looked so...' she quivered again and felt herself get wetter. 'I am so lucky I'm wearing leather right now. She turned to see Talen stripping off his shirt and walking to the edge of the mat, 'What have I gotten myself into now?'.


	4. Chapter 4: The Day Begins

The match started in a flurry or motion, Danae hurtling across the mat at Talen, only to find him launching a kick at her feet. She dodged this and recovered only to catch another kick with her forearms. She slid back and got into a defensive stance and stared at Talen, waiting for him to make a move, not wanting to be caught so recklessly again. Talen straightened and smiled, he looked at her and reassessed his match. She was fast and agile, and her reactions were pretty quick. This might be more challenging then Talen thought.

He slid into a standard defensive stance and looked at Danae, "Lets see watch you got!" he said, smirking. He watched as she shifted into an offensive stance, slowly weaving her way toward him.

She came within striking distance and slid in, trying to get in a solid hit to put his still fixed grin off of his face. Danae launched a first simple set of hits, he blocked every one of them. She went harder, increasing the speed and power behind each punch, throwing the occasional kick or knee, she started to grin as his grin faded and a look of concentration came to his face. He started to move backwards, losing ground, Danae was starting to give more to the fight, swaying back and forth, in an attempt to catch him on an off side. He slid back farther and a feeling of sheer thrill invaded her conscience, she launched into the next attack, displaying one of the more complicated sequences that Mirtai had taught her. Punch, knee, backhand, elbow, everything coming together in a hope to confuse Talen and then at the last moment she switched a knee into a high kick, extending her leg so as to catch Talen in the shoulder when his arms were down to catch a knee. She felt almost exulted as she thought of the outcome, he would be thrown off balance and then she would sweep out his legs, bringing him down to a submission and her winning. But just as her kick was about to connect he dropped from view, sliding behind her and turning. Danae tried to stop but the sudden loss a body to connect to resulted in her spinning in a full circle, with her back ending towards Talen and the feeling of dread as she knew she was done for.

Slap, she yelped as she felt his hand smack against her ass and the instant moist feeling between her legs...Had he really just done that. She turned slowly to see Talen standing not far away with a huge grin on his face. Mirtai was chuckling in the corner, her smile wide and amused. Danae started to feel the blush come to her face as she settled back into a defensive stance.

"You will pay for that Talen, and how could you even do such a thing."

Talen's grin grew wider, "Because I felt like it."

She felt herself blush at his comment.

Mirtai's smiled wider "Be careful with her now Talen, she's still pretty tough, and besides you wouldn't want to have Sparhawk mad at you for toying with her."

Danae spluttered and Talen laughed. Danae started to turn towards Mirtai and saw Talen move out of the corner of her eye. she whirled just in time to deflect a punch and was then forced into a furious defense. She blocked, spun, ducked and twisted, trying to avoid or deflect Talen's attacks but she was starting to trip up. In just a few seconds she had to dive to the side to get out of Talen's range. she rolled and then crouched, ready to spring away again if needed but didn't. She looked up to see Talen stretch an arm and slowly walk to the middle of the mat. his face was calm with a small hint of a smile tugging at his lips. She got up and moved towards the middle, assuming her defensive stance, readying herself as best as she could.

She watched transfixed as he flowed into a stance that was completely unfamiliar to her, and by the puzzlement on Mirtai's face, it might be new to her too. Talen's foot slid in a wide angle and rested lightly behind him, it looked almost like a dance as he started his sequence. He slid forward so smoothly it took her by surprise, his hands straight and directed in more precise, flowing movements. Danae was only able to barely block each hit. She saw Mirtai's mouth hanging open in the background, shocked as if some miracle had landed in front of her. Danae watched in a sort of unattached state as she blocked each hit, with just barely a split second to spare, as if Talen was waiting for her to react. And then it happened, so fast and so smoothly that there was no possible way she could have blocked it. It seemed like everything slowed as she watched it unfold. He flowed like water as he struck, at the end of the sequence his hands came in from both sides, forcing her to block with her forearms, his arms then weaving into between hers as she tried to recover from the last hit, he snapped his arms out a fraction, sending her arms flying outwards, leaving her completely open, she saw him sink and twist so smoothly as his leg swept hers out from under her and then he was twisting back up, she saw his face. Calm, relaxed, completely focused. She was hanging in the air as his arms descended again, hitting her square in the chest, sending her flying towards the ground.

The trance was broken as she hit the ground, the air whooshing out of her lungs and seeing Talen spin and kneel beside her, his hand now a fist hanging above her chest. Mirtai rushed over, looking stunned and sitting Danae up so that she could catch some breath.

Mirtai turned to Talen, "Where did you learn that, she demanded, and how in the world did you manage to master it, It took me years to complete it!"

Talen had retrieved his shirt and put it on. "Engassa taught me the stances after I had finished my training with him, and he told me that I had to master it on my own, I trained a lot and tweaked it a bit to fit my size and well... There you have it."

Mirtai was stunned speechless and gaped at him. Danae stood up. "Alright, you win. I will go get ready and you can collect your prize later." she said somewhat briskly, taking the still gaping Mirtai into her room, shutting the doors and latching them.

Talen turned with a smile on his face. He walked over to his sword and strapping it on and resting on the wall, thinking to himself about how exciting that his day could actually turn out to be.

Danae and Mirtai emerged from the princess's room about an hour after their sparring match to find Talen lounging on the couch, his sword on his lap and a tray filled with what Danae supposed was their lunch. She sat down beside Talen and pulled the tray over towards herself. "That wasn't fair you know, you knew that you were going to win in the end."

Talen smiled "Yes, but that doesn't mean anything, you still agreed to it, and the future queen should learn not to engage an opponent unless she is sure she has a chance of winning, or at least understands the ability of said opponent. Today was an important lesson for you princess."

Danae scowled at him while Mirtai chuckled and took a seat in a chair across from them and took her own food, "He is right you know, it was a very good lesson indeed Talen." She said before she took her first bite. Danae huffed and started to eat just as Sparhawk opened the door and walked in. He was dressed in his black Pandion armor, his sword strapped to his hip and the silver crown of the queens consort atop his head.

"There you are" he said looking at Talen, "Are you ready for today, you know all of the procedures and the schedule?"

Talen stood up "Yes, I have looked over everything and made sure that today will go as smooth as possible. I just need to get my armor and I'll be ready for the day."

Sparhawk smiled. "Good, I've had someone bring your armor along, he'll be here soon."

Talen nodded "Thank you"

Sparhawk turned to Danae "And you, You should be getting ready, your not even in your dress yet, your mother is going to have a fit when she gets here."

Danae jumped up and hugged her father, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Oh she'll be fine. She'll want to help me get ready, so I've decided to give her the chance too."

At that moment Ehlana came in followed closely by the novice carrying Talen's armor. "Oh good, I thought you would already be getting ready without me, im glad I got here in time."

Danae smiled at her father as her mother confirmed her just previous thoughts. Ehlana moved over to Danae, giving Sparhawk a swift kiss on her way by, and started to hustle Mirtai and Danae into Danae's room. She turned back to look at Talen as she was going through the door, "Please do something about that awful stubble you have going on there Talen, you want to look your best for today." And then she was gone behind the door, leaving a chuckling Sparhawk and a slightly offended Talen behind.

"I guess it is a bit hopeless right now." Talen sighed.

Sparhawk clapped him on the back "You'll be able to grow a proper beard when you get a bit older, right now it's probably best to do as she says though."

Talen said a couple words in Styric and made a gesture and then all of his stubble fell off and drifted into the empty bowl that was sitting on the table. "That's a useful trick there Talen" Talen shrugged, "Magic seems to come extremely easy to me, its kinda odd." Sparhawk chuckled again. "Maybe Aphrael likes you more then others."

Talen laughed "I haven't seen Flute in years. Not since Sephrenia had her kid, by the way are they going to be here." He remembered there little run in this morning and corrected himself, but that had been a little to odd to be worth mentioning.

"Yes. She, Vanion and Kalae will be here shortly, I got a message from them just before I came here. Now lets get you into your armor before the ladies get out hear." Talen put on his padded shirt and then was assisted into the rest of his armor by Sparhawk, the only piece missing was his helmet but he would not be wearing it today, it was to concealing for the ceremonies today as Danae would say.

"So should we go and make a small inspection before the day starts." Talen asked "Yes, I think that Ehlana shall take some time with Danae." And with that the two left the room.


End file.
